MOUNT WASHINGTON - If it weren’t for the Miss Bullitt County Fair pageant, Kindra Clark said she would not have been crowned Miss Kentucky USA, and if it weren’t for the Miss Kentucky pageant, she would not have had the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss USA in Las Vegas.

“Competing in the Miss USA pageant was the greatest experience of my life,” Clark said. “I feel like I owe that to the Miss Bullitt County Fair pageant.”

Clark, the reigning Miss Bullitt County Fair, started her whirlwind year winning at the local level before going on to win Miss Kentucky USA honors and competing in Las Vegas in the Miss USA pageant.

Lots of girls saw that path and thought they would try to catch that magic in a bottle themselves. That brought a record 17 girls out to compete on Monday night in the 2010 version of the Miss Bullitt County Fair pageant.